Stack-based buffer overflow in the evutil_parse_sockaddr_port function in evutil.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows attackers to cause a
Stack-based buffer overflow in the evutil_parse_sockaddr_port function in evutil.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) via vectors involving a long string in brackets in the ip_as_string argument.
- Published
- Mar 15, 2017
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 5.2% · 92th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-787
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Report tools
Action score
32
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 2 / 30 · 5.2%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| debian | debian linux | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux |
| libevent project | libevent | cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent |
| mozilla | firefox | cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:firefox |
| mozilla | thunderbird | cpe:2.3:a:mozilla:thunderbird |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- debian debian linux8.0
- libevent project libeventup to 2.1.5 inclusive
- mozilla firefoxbefore 45.9.0
- mozilla firefoxbefore 53.0
- mozilla firefox52.0
- mozilla thunderbirdbefore 52.1.0
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.10 | libevent | before 2.1.8-r0 | 2.1.8-r0 |
| Alpine:v3.2 | libevent | before 2.0.22-r1 | 2.0.22-r1 |
| Alpine:v3.5 | libevent | before 2.0.22-r2 | 2.0.22-r2 |
| Debian:12 | libevent | before 2.0.21-stable-3 | 2.0.21-stable-3 |
| Debian:7 | libevent | before 2.0.19-stable-3+deb7u2 | 2.0.19-stable-3+deb7u2 |
| Debian:8 | libevent | before 2.0.21-stable-2+deb8u1 | 2.0.21-stable-2+deb8u1 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | firefox | before 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 | 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | firefox-debuginfo | before 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 | 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | thunderbird | before 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 | 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | thunderbird-debuginfo | before 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 | 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | firefox | before 0:52.1.0-2.el7_3 | 0:52.1.0-2.el7_3 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | firefox-debuginfo | before 0:52.1.0-2.el7_3 | 0:52.1.0-2.el7_3 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | thunderbird | before 0:52.1.0-1.el7_3 | 0:52.1.0-1.el7_3 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | thunderbird-debuginfo | before 0:52.1.0-1.el7_3 | 0:52.1.0-1.el7_3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | libevent | before 2.0.21-6.3.1 | 2.0.21-6.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | firefox-gcc5 | before 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 | 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | firefox-libffi-gcc5 | before 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 | 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | MozillaFirefox-branding-SLED | before 52-24.3.44 | 52-24.3.44 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | libevent | before 1.4.5-24.24.3.1 | 1.4.5-24.24.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | mozilla-nss | before 3.29.5-47.3.2 | 3.29.5-47.3.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | MozillaFirefox | before 52.2.0esr-72.5.2 | 52.2.0esr-72.5.2 |
| SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 6 | MozillaFirefox | before 52.2.0esr-108.3 | 52.2.0esr-108.3 |
| SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 6 | MozillaFirefox-branding-SLE | before 52-31.1 | 52-31.1 |
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Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| alpine:libevent | 2.1.8-r0 · Alpine:v3.10 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:libevent | 2.0.21-stable-3 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:firefox | 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:firefox-debuginfo | 0:52.1.0-2.el6_9 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:thunderbird | 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:thunderbird-debuginfo | 0:52.1.0-1.el6_9 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:firefox-gcc5 | 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:firefox-libffi-gcc5 | 5.3.1+r233831-7.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:libevent | 2.0.21-6.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:mozilla-nss | 3.29.5-47.3.2 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:MozillaFirefox | 52.2.0esr-108.3 · SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:MozillaFirefox-branding-SLE | 52-31.1 · SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:MozillaFirefox-branding-SLED | 52-24.3.44 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds WriteCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3789
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/01/31/17
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/02/02/7
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/96014
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1038320
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1104
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1106
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1201
- bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1343453
- github.com/libevent/libevent/blob/release-2.1.6-beta/ChangeLog
- github.com/libevent/libevent/commit/329acc18a0768c21ba22522f01a5c7f46cacc4d5
- security.gentoo.org/glsa/201705-01
- www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2017-10/
- www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2017-11/
- www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2017-12/
- www.mozilla.org/security/advisories/mfsa2017-13/
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.